Stockholders who have regained control of a derivative challenge to Oracle Corp.'s $9.3 billion purchase of cloud computing rival NetSuite Inc. argued Friday that the Oracle committee that had taken over to investigate the deal was stonewalling by refusing to share key records it collected.

The federal government and other stakeholders in the Chapter 11 case of health care conglomerate Hygea Holdings Corp. are opposing the company's reorganization plan, asserting it has provisions releasing certain parties from potential liability that are too expansive.

The Third Circuit on Friday cleared New Jersey's path to escape a more than 60-year-old compact establishing a commission to regulate the shipping port it shares with New York, ruling in a precedential opinion that the Garden State is shielded from that agency's suit to block its withdrawal.

In the last week or so, the Internet Archive's library service came under fire, a vodka company that started making hand sanitizer sought to defend its brand name, a convicted intellectual property thief asked to be let out early over the pandemic, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office launched a new resource center.

A stockholder of The Williams Companies Inc. has sued in Delaware's Chancery Court for access to the pipeline giant's documents on a poison pill takeover defense measure adopted in March, branding its terms "highly restrictive" and deserving of a closer look.

Settlement objectors in class and derivative actions may receive attorney fees for improving deals in ways beyond the dollars and cents, the Third Circuit said Thursday in a precedential ruling that the former general counsel of a body armor business deserves fees with no strings attached for such an objection.

A stockholder of Victoria's Secret owner L Brands Inc. sued the parent company in Delaware's Chancery Court on Thursday for access to records regarding an alleged "toxic culture" of sexual harassment and intimidation at the women's lingerie retailer, citing the company's failure to voluntarily produce documents.

A Delaware judge on Thursday gave her nod to the Chapter 11 plan of drug technology company Valeritas Holdings Inc. in what was one of the first insolvency cases nationwide blaming the coronavirus outbreak for a company's trip into bankruptcy.

Talos Energy Inc. and its private equity controllers ran an unfair transaction in which Talos paid $385 million and valuable preferred stock to buy oil producing assets in the Gulf of Mexico from affiliates of one of the controllers, an investor has alleged in a Delaware Chancery Court suit.

The company behind popular teeth-straightening technology Invisalign urged a Delaware federal court Wednesday to reject a judge's recommendation that it face a rival's allegations of an anti-competitive scheme to take over the market for clear aligners and the intraoral scanners used to make them.

Bankrupt amusement park chain Apex Parks Group received Delaware court approval Thursday for a $60 million sale of its assets to prepetition lender Cerberus Business Finance LLC and a case settlement with unsecured creditors.

Car and truck part maker APC Automotive Technologies received court approval Thursday to access $30 million in bankruptcy financing being provided by its existing lenders as it pursues a prepackaged Chapter 11 plan to slash nearly $300 million of debt.

Former Bumble Bee CEO Chris Lischewski urged a California federal judge Wednesday to reject prosecutors' request for a 10-year prison sentence for his role in fixing the price of tuna, arguing that there was no evidence he led the conspiracy, obstructed justice or caused losses and that he should get no more than 10 months.

The Federal Circuit on Wednesday backed a lower court's ruling letting Tinder's parent IAC/InterActiveCorp out of a suit claiming it had infringed a British Telecommunications patent, agreeing with the earlier decision that the technology was too abstract for patent protection.

A Federal Circuit judge questioned a lower court's decision allowing Amgen Inc. to launch a biosimilar of Genentech's blockbuster cancer drug Avastin, suggesting at a Wednesday hearing that the trial court's interpretation of the law could allow biosimilar makers to game the federal drug licensing system and skirt infringement claims.

A Delaware federal judge on Wednesday rejected a bid to consider a potentially precedential negligence claim lodged in a $30 million suit by two hedge funds asserting that their expert's undisclosed "grudge" undermined their bid for a better AOL share price after a $4.4 billion merger with Verizon.

The operator of a sprawling Philadelphia oil refinery received approval Wednesday from a Delaware bankruptcy judge for a settlement that will cap its obligations related to environmental regulatory rules at $10 million, down from the $35 million asserted by the federal government.

Attorneys representing regional Alaskan air carrier Ravn Air Group told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Wednesday that unexpected costs and a reluctance from its lenders to cover those expenses, which were exacerbated by a deadline being extended, are threatening its proposed Chapter 11 sale.

AT&T Inc. urged a Delaware vice chancellor Wednesday to quash or modify a subpoena the company said would require it to hand over tens of millions of records to a state agency seeking unclaimed funds and rebates dating back more than 20 years, terming the demand excessive and unsupported.

Washington state sued StarKist, parent company Dongwon Industries and former Bumble Bee Foods CEO Christopher Lischewski on Tuesday, accusing them of taking part in a decadelong price-fixing scheme that caused U.S. canned tuna prices to rise despite decreasing demand.

An investor in regional airline financial services business AeroCentury Corp. filed a Delaware Chancery Court suit seeking to delay its annual board meeting, asserting that notice was sent too late for "dissident" candidates to mount a campaign as the company's financial woes worsen.

Expert Analysis

COVID-19 presents a number of immediate challenges for health care providers and payers, as well as increased litigation related to standard-of-care issues, data breach risks and other concerns that will extend beyond the end of the pandemic, say attorneys at Manatt Phelps.

Law firms in today's financial crisis may be looking at nontraditional arrangements such as portfolio funding or factoring to provide liquidity and cash support, but firms must first consider lawsuits brought against Pierce Bainbridge and other recent developments, says Katherine Toomey at Lewis Baach.

Directors of Delaware corporation boards should consider the responsibilities established in Caremark as a framework for getting sufficiently involved in COVID-19 decision-making, both to help their corporations navigate this difficult period and to defend against potential duty to monitor claims, say attorneys at Boies Schiller.

Those seeking resolution in commercial disputes that are stuck in an unavoidable but lengthy court backlog due to the pandemic must consider the advantages of arbitration and mediation over court proceedings, says former U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin now at Stroock.

The Minnesota Supreme Court's Maslowski v. Prospect Funding Partners decision this week reaffirms that the doctrine of champerty is archaic, impedes important litigation finance activity, and should be abolished in the handful of states where it remains alive, says Andrew Cohen at Burford Capital.

While it is too soon to know whether the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will receive any petitions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are lessons to be learned from looking back at the panel's experience with MDLs in the aftermath of past outbreaks, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

A significant challenge in practicing law remotely is the use and handling of documents without paper, because common digital tools such as email or even secure file transfer applications are problematic, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

A key component of a successful damages theory based on prior licenses — as demonstrated in two recent federal trials — is support from a technical expert who can identify comparable agreements and offer a technology-based methodology for apportionment, say Laurie Stempler at Desmarais and Dominic Persechini at Intensity.

The legal industry is uniquely positioned, and indeed obligated, to respond to the racial disparities made clear by the recent killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, but lawyers must be willing to be uncomfortable, says Tiffani Lee at Holland & Knight.

One mistake that attorneys commonly make when presenting a case to a third-party funder is focusing almost exclusively on liability and giving short shrift to the damages analysis — resulting in an aspirational damages estimate that falls apart under scrutiny, say Cindy Ahn and Justin Maleson at Longford Capital and Casey Grabenstein at Saul Ewing.

Attorneys at WilmerHale highlight recent developments in privilege law, the significant challenges raised by nontraditional working arrangements popularized during the pandemic, and ways to avoid waiving attorney-client privilege when using electronic communications.

While the law on secondhand exposure to workplace hazards like COVID-19 varies from state to state, employers can make educated guesses about the scope of liability and the steps needed to protect workers and limit claims from third parties, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

While pulling off an effective summer associate program this year will be no easy feat, law firms' investments in their future attorneys should be considered necessary even during this difficult time, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.

A recent Trump administration executive order and a plan to distribute CARES Act funding to aquaculture and fishing businesses represent ambitious new federal support for these industries, and stakeholders should engage proactively as spending plans and application processes are developed, say attorneys at K&L Gates.